One would have thought that the Coast Guard would already have been freely sharing all information with the Navy, however reading between the lines of this news item ... is it just a coincidence that this follows so closely on the heels of Stronach‘s suggestion she would have the Navy take over the Coast Guard - oops - Freudian slip - she only said they‘d "merge" ... ? Methinks the union is running scared.
And, as to the intellectual debate of whether to merge the unarmed, civilian, unionised Coast Guard with our Navy: "you can always water the lawn with a fire hose, but it‘s tough to fight fires with a garden hose ..."
(I wonder what the Coast Guard budget is ... and whether our Navy could better spend those dollars ... ? OK - just visited DFO website, and there‘s no simple answer to how much we spend on the Coast Guard - it‘s divided up within the DFO budget, similar to the way our defence budget is all jumbled up into so many slices of the pie)
Coast guard, navy will swap information to protect the country‘s coastline
DARTMOUTH, N.S. (CP) - Fisheries Minister Geoff Regan has announced the coast guard and navy will be swapping information and co-operating more closely when it comes to protecting the country‘s coastline.
He also says his staff and the Defence Department are working on plans to beef-up fisheries patrols on the nose and tail of the Grand Banks off Newfoundland.
Regan says the aim is to provide almost continual surveillance.
Defence Minister David Pratt says he hopes to find more money for the navy to do additional fisheries patrols.
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Clement promises to boost defence spending, merge navy, coast guard
MICHAEL TUTTON
Canadian Press
Friday, March 05, 2004
DARTMOUTH, N.S. (CP) - Conservative leadership candidate Tony Clement says he‘ll rapidly increase funding for Canada‘s military if he becomes prime minister, matching a promise made earlier this week by rival Belinda Stronach.
Using Halifax Harbour as a backdrop, Clement told reporters Friday he would also merge the Canadian Coast Guard with the navy. The coast guard is now part of the federal Fisheries Department. The former Ontario cabinet minister said he‘d boost military spending by $1 billion immediately, bringing defence spending to $12.8 billion annually.
After the first year, he said, he‘d continue to increase the defence budget at a rate of three per cent above the country‘s rate of economic growth.
It‘s a commitment Clement made earlier in the campaign, but it took on increased significance Friday, as the Halifax area is home to about 10,000 military personnel.
Clement also said he would spend $2 billion immediately on military equipment.
Clement and Stronach have both spent considerable time and money courting party members in Atlantic Canada as of late, mainly because the region remains a stronghold for former Progressive Conservatives, many of whom have turned their backs on the race‘s front-runner, former Alliance leader Stephen Harper.
When Stronach, a former auto parts magnate, visited Halifax on Tuesday, she promised to add $1 billion each year over the next 10 years to defence spending.
Later Friday, Geoff Regan, the federal minister of fisheries, said Clement‘s proposal to merge the navy and coast guard would be too costly.
"To make the kind of changes that Mr. Clement is talking about would require a generation and billions of dollars," said the Nova Scotia MP, who was in Halifax to make an announcement with Defence Minister David Pratt.
Pratt also did nothing to encourage the idea of a merged navy and coast guard, saying there was no support within the navy for the proposal.
Clement said his merger plan would be an ideal way to improve coastal monitoring.
"By doing this we could enhance our continental defence strategy while maintaining our search-and-rescue capability for our fishing and shipping industries."
Clement said he‘d find the money for increased military spending by restricting government spending in all areas. He declined to speculate on what programs, if any, he would cut.
